


Diverged

by CarolPeletier



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Separations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29960181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarolPeletier/pseuds/CarolPeletier
Summary: Where do they go from here?  Carol and Daryl seem to be at an impasse.  They don't know how to talk to each other, how to be around each other, and the pain and tension is palpable when they're near one another.  When a ghost from Daryl's past arrives and complicates things further, Carol makes a bold decision that catapults her and Daryl on journeys of self-discovery.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead. All characters belong to the creators of the television series and graphic novels.

Diverged

Chapter 1

Weeks of hard work had finally paid off for the survivors of the Alexandria Safe Zone. The destruction the Whisperers had brought on their safe haven was now only just a memory. Houses were freshly painted, windows were replaced, and every spot on the wall left weakened or damaged was now reinforced and stronger than ever.

For the first time since before Alpha infiltrated the festival and changed so many lives forever, there was a sense of calming peace. The Whisperers had left their scars on the living. So many were dead. So many were just…gone. 

For Carol, she felt very much stuck. It was as if time was moving fast around her, but she was moving in slow motion.

She’d kept mostly to herself since returning home from that fateful hunting trip with Daryl. She’d busied herself helping continue repairs and doing her part to help out wherever she was needed. She still got sideways glances from people, even those once loyal to the Kingdom, and some would just avoid her when she crossed their paths. It didn’t really bother her. What bothered her was the way she couldn’t even look Daryl in the eye anymore. She would catch herself and try to fix the problem, but it would be too late, because by the time she caught the courage to look at him, he was looking somewhere else. She hadn’t felt so lonely in so long, and slowly but surely, it was weighing her down.

Still, life was slowly returning to something resembling normal. Connie was home. Carol was thankful for that, and she was happy to see her reunite with her sister. Connie had come home with a story about a kind stranger finding her and helping her when she was too weak to make her way home. He’d nursed her back to health, and then one day she’d woken up to find him gone and had made her way back home.

Daryl had been happy to have Connie back. Carol had certainly noticed that. But watching from a distance, his words from before _“it’s not like that. Not at all,”_ rang true. Of course, Carol realized, Daryl was still hung up on Leah, the woman from the woods, the woman who’d left. She still had his heart, Carol was certain, and while that idea left Carol with a sinking feeling in her stomach, her heart was heavy at the idea of Daryl not being able to move on with his life.

She didn’t know where they stood. Honestly, the last words they’d spoken to each other after the cabin had been few and short, and lots of sleepless nights had come and gone since then. She hated the tension between them. It confused her. It hurt. She felt suffocated by it. She wanted to run. But that’s just what he expected her to do. Hell, she expected it, too. What was so bad about running away? They’d talked about it before. Getting on the bike and going to some enchanted place out west with nothing but the desert and blue skies to keep them company. Running away was on his mind, too. So why was he so goddamn angry? 

She sighed heavily, dragging the toe of her boot across the front step. Her elbows jutted out, hands at her hips as she peered out across the street toward Maggie’s house. Little Hershel was sitting on the front porch wearing his daddy’s baseball cap. He never went anywhere without it. It warmed Carol’s heart to see him carrying a piece of his father around with him, yet at the same time, it took her all the way back to Atlanta, to the quarry, to the time when Glenn was still alive and so was Sophia, and even though the world didn’t make sense, they all pulled together to try to figure it out. They protected each other. They were family. It felt like so long ago. The memories were like fuzzy, out of focus old pictures. They seemed disjointed at didn’t make a lot of sense. She barely recognized the woman getting slapped around by her husband, the woman cowering with her shaking daughter as the world went crazy around them and spun so violently out of control that it blew everything apart.

The front screen door opened, and a fluffy tail brushed her leg as Dog went whipping past, down to the street and over to Maggie’s place to see what Hershel was up to, to see if the boy might have a tasty treat for him.

Carol heard Daryl’s heavy boots drag across the wooden porch as he stepped up behind her, then beside her, hesitating ever so briefly before he stepped past her and went after Dog. No words. The wound ripped wide open, fresh. She caught herself gripping the porch railing as the breath caught in her throat. 

The not talking was worse than the painful words he’d leveled at her not long ago. This man meant more to her than she could even comprehend. Yet he’d all but told her things weren’t the same any longer. He was tired of the same old conversation. He was tired of her running. She was tired, too. She was tired of pain. She was tired of losing everyone she loved. Sophia. Lori. Andrea. Lizzie. Mika. Beth. Tyreese. Sam. Carl. The dead kept piling up, and pushing people away, running from feelings, well, it had become something she was quiet good at. She could hide herself inside of a fairytale and find some sort of comfort with a man who’s loss wouldn’t absolutely devastate her. She could settle for playing the housewife one more time. It was all for Henry. It was about giving him a life while giving herself the chance to do things right with him. There were too many dead before him. There was so much pain and grief nestled deep in Carol’s heart. Just looking at Henry, sometimes she would see Sophia’s sparkling eyes or hear her laugh. It was as if somehow, through raising that lost little boy into a handsome young man was a tribute to the little girl that she lost, the little girl she never would have lost if she’d just been stronger.

Carol noticed Maggie come out the front door of her home. She talked to Daryl for a few minutes, before Daryl whistled for Dog, and the two headed off toward the gates. With a discontented sigh, Carol settled down on the porch step and watched Maggie stoop down to speak quiet words to Hershel. She watched the way they interacted. Maggie brushed the boys shaggy hair out of his eyes, and he giggled and ducked out of her reach. Carol found herself smiling at the prospect and couldn’t help but notice how things had changed for the two of them since Negan took off.

Hershel, of course, had no idea that Negan was the man that killed his father, but Maggie’s demeanor had changed drastically with Negan left to find his place in the world a free man. He was free to go with the stipulation that if he ever caused trouble for Alexandria again, he’d be put down like a dog, and those words were spoken under no uncertain terms.

Carol didn’t expect to see the man again. Why would he come back to a place he wasn’t wanted? She almost envied him. He was out there, free from the glares and the whispers that came from everyone he passed. His sins were his alone to carry now, and what he chose to do with his life was up to him. No more bars. No more walls. No more memories haunting him in the eyes of everyone that looked at him.

Carol knew he’d never be free. He’d always live with the weight of what he’d done, and that was his life sentence. She understood that. She didn’t have to like him or agree with his actions. But she knew that life had a way of twisting a person into something only recognizable in a mirror, and even then, sometimes it was difficult to look at a familiar face and see a decade of pain and growth and age all at the same time.

Maggie looked over Carol’s way and offered her a little nod. Even a hint of a smile. Things had slowly started to get better between them. Maggie understood that the things that happened while she was gone had nothing to do with her or Glenn, and using Negan as a weapon had been the best solution at the time. It had gotten Negan out from under foot for a while, let him find a piece of himself and given him a chance to do the right thing. And he’d succeeded, in a round-about way, anyway.

Even though things were better, Carol still felt a rush of anxiety, as if she’d just gone downhill on the fastest rollercoaster and her stomach had flew up into her throat when Maggie got up and started across the street. 

Carol’s fingers twitched and flexed at her sides, offering a small smile before getting up when Maggie stepped onto the walkway. 

“Gonna be a nice day,” Maggie offered quietly. “You’re up early.”

“So are you,” Carol shrugged.

“Hershel woke me up before dawn wanting pancakes,” Maggie admitted. “He’s got a sweet tooth like his daddy.” The bright smile that always filled her face when she spoke of her son dimmed a little. “What’s your excuse?”

“I don’t sleep much these days,” Carol admitted, tucking her hands into her back pockets. Maggie’s head dipped in a nod.

“Me neither. Sooner or later, the bad dreams always catch up to you. Only, mostly, they’re memories. Not dreams.” Carol nodded then, scuffing the toe of her boot against the porch. She cleared her throat, and Maggie took a deep breath. “It was bad out on the road. Worse here. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Hershel, I’d still be out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love my son more than my life. That’s why I’m here. He deserves a home. Life on the road? That’s no place for a kid.”

“You’re right,” Carol breathed. “It’s not. You have to settle for them, you know?” Maggie nodded. “The place you were before? There were other kids?”

“Yeah,” Maggie offered with a sad smile. “A couple dozen.” She glanced over her shoulder at Hershel for a moment before turning back to Carol. “Then the Reapers came. Hershel’s the only one I know that made it out. And that’s because he had me.” She swallowed hard and brushed at her eyes. “He has bad dreams. He says his friends visit him when he sleeps. He says the ghosts are always there.” 

“I think we all have ghosts,” Carol offered softly. “From Atlanta to here. The road is lined with ghosts. These walls are filled with them. Everywhere you go.” Maggie nodded. “You know, after Henry died, I went out on a fishing boat.”

“I heard that,” Maggie offered with a half-smile. “Kelly told me.”

“I couldn’t stay.” Carol blinked back tears. “When winter was over, I had to go. I couldn’t stay put, because every time it got quiet, every time I looked at Judith or RJ or Ezekiel, all I remembered was the fair and how happy I was to see everybody, and hours later, it all just got taken away.”

“It doesn’t get better,” Maggie offered.

“It doesn’t.”

“I still see it, you know? It’s worse when I’m lyin’ in bed and tryin’ to sleep. I can still… _smell_ it. I can hear him trying to breathe, and I can smell the blood. And every time I…” Maggie shuddered, her hand moving to her throat for a moment. She grimaced and shook her head. “When I was on the road, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. I was constantly on the move, and when I found a place to sleep, I was so tired I feel asleep quick. Being here? I have more time to think about it, and it drives me crazy. But I take that on, because it’s better here for him.”

“Out there, you were free, but you knew you had a home to come back to if you needed to,” Carol said slowly. Maggie nodded.

“Yeah. I always had a home. I just needed to leave for a while. I don’t know what I would’ve done without Hershel. Honestly, if it wasn’t for him, I might not be standing here right now.” 

“You would,” Carol offered. “Just when we think we’re at the breaking point, we dig deeper and find a way to survive. Somehow.” Carol cleared her throat. “But the ghosts are everywhere.”

“They are. I can’t look around without seeing some corner or some porch where I have a happy memory. And the happy memories hurt the most, because I know that’s the past. It’s gone forever, and I just have to…be.” 

“Yeah.” Carol looked off toward the gates where Daryl had long since slipped through.

“The one good thing about being here, if you can call it good, is I’m close to Glenn again. I know Hilltop is a shambles right now, but we’ll get it back where it was before. And I can take Hershel there to stand beside his daddy’s grave and tell him all the stories of how brave he was. Someday. Still, I miss the road. I do.” Carol nodded in understanding.

“I miss the boat. But if I went back, I’d just remember _why_ I went in the first place, and I can’t do that again. Still, this place? It doesn’t feel like home. Not anymore.” Maggie’s gaze fell, and she nodded. She glanced off toward the gates, knowing Carol was thinking about Daryl.

“He loves you, you know? He really does. It’s just that it’s hard to know what to do with that in this world. Everybody’s lost someone. We’re all gonna lose each other one day. It’s hard think about. Hard to do anything about.” Carol swallowed hard, and she took a deep breath, ready to excuse herself and find something to keep her mind off of everything. But before she had the chance to open her mouth, a commotion at the gates drew their attention that direction.

She and Maggie quickly took off toward the gates, and as the fence pulled back, Carol’s gaze first met Daryl’s, and when his gaze caught hers, he held it for a moment before looking away. As the gate pulled back further, Carol realized in Daryl’s arms was a small child, and at his side was a woman with golden brown hair, her face bruised and her arm wrapped in a bandage. Carol’s heart sank, and she looked back to Daryl to find his worrying his lip between his teeth for a moment. 

“Daryl?” Maggie asked, stepping forward. “What happened?” Daryl started through the gates, and the woman hobbled alongside of him on an injured ankle. He looked at Carol again, just briefly, and then he looked back to Maggie. 

“This is Leah. She’s a friend,” he offered quietly. Carol flinched at the word, because she knew this was so much more than that. Her hand moved to her stomach, and the only words that came to mind, the words she thought she couldn’t say out loud, fell from her lips in a soft whisper.

“She found you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daryl’s crossbow rattled as he slung it over one shoulder. His shoes scuffed the pavement dryly as he followed the bend in the road and left the gates of Alexandria behind. Dog whimpered and made a wide circle around Daryl twice, looking back toward home. Daryl glanced down at his furry companion and sighed.

“What? You wanna go back? I know Carol won you over with treats. Told her you didn’t need all that. Spoiled you is what she did.” Dog whimpered again, and Daryl sighed. “You gonna pout the whole time we’re out here?” Dog circled him again, and Daryl reached down to scratch him behind the ears. “Look, I’ll leave the door open tonight, that way you can sneak up and sleep on Carol’s bed.” Dog looked up at him and cocked his head innocently. “Don’t try to deny it now. I saw you sneak up there last night.” 

Dog finally stopped circling his human and kept a steady pace at his side. Daryl glanced down at Dog. Dog glanced up at Daryl. 

“Would ya stop looking at me like that? You trying to make me feel worse?” Dog whimpered again. “Look, I know you know things ain’t the same at home. I don’t know if they’re ever gonna be the same again. Don’t know how to make it right.” Dog did another circle around Daryl, and Daryl threw his head back. “C’mon. Now you’re just trying to make me feel bad. Like I don’t already feel like shit. What do you want me to do? What am I supposed to say. Huh? Do you know what it’s like to not even know what to say to your best friend anymore?” He snorted. “Don’t even know if I’ve got a best friend anymore. We ain’t felt like best friends since…well, it’s been a long time. Things are different.” He looked at the Dog. “You even know what the hell I’m saying? ‘Course you don’t. All you know is things ain’t right at home, and if it came right down to it, you’d choose her over me in a heartbeat.” Dog whined and snorted, and Daryl smirked. “Don’t lie to me.”

Daryl kicked a stray stone, sending it skittering across the pavement. He hadn’t really planned on going hunting, but he hadn’t slept much the night before, and he was running out of excuses to make himself scarce around the house.

The truth was, he didn’t know what to say or do next. He hadn’t set out that day intending to be a complete asshole. The fact that Carol had sought him out looking to get out of Alexandria for a little bit had set him on edge. She’d been so ready to get back on that boat after she’d first come back. She’d left before on her own. Before that, Rick had banished her. And he’d never gotten a chance to see her to say goodbye any of those times. Even when she went out on the boat, she just left a note and disappeared, as if she hadn’t been the one trying to get him to come home all those years he spent in the woods.

It was exhausting. And each morning he woke up, he expected her to be gone. He expected she would have packed up without so much as a note and left him again. This time for good. After all, he was the one who said he wouldn’t stop her next time.

The morning everything changed, Carol had been trying to keep things in a light-hearted mood, and he’d done everything in his power to act like a complete dick. He cringed every time he thought back on that day. And then they found the cabin, and everything spiraled from there. 

Seeing the cabin again was like a punch in the gut. He’d known it was there. But he had forced himself to try to forget as much as he could about that time. Having Dog around was a constant reminder, but just like him, he was left all alone. There was nothing lonelier than being utterly alone at the end of the world. Everyone was always leaving. Carol left. Rick was gone. And Leah. Though he knew deep down that _he_ was the one that left. She’d told him to choose, and he’d disappeared for weeks. _That_ was his choice. He’d thought that being with Leah would make the world feel less lonely, but being with her was just a constant reminder that people leave, and her leveling that ultimatum on him had done nothing but make the walls close in on an already lonely world. How could she ask him to choose between his family, between looking for the man he called a brother and the people who had helped him survive through the literal end of the world? How was he supposed to choose her over them when the one person that mattered most in the world to him was still out there. Married and raising a child, but still out there, still his best friend. 

He'd made his choice. And then he’d seen Carol, and he’d seen the look in her eyes, and he’d wanted to ask her to stay, to sit a while, to have supper with him, but she had a family, and she was telling him she might not be able to visit for a while. She was slipping away. Not running, but leaving all the same. And while there was something else behind her eyes, something he couldn’t let himself recognize, there was no way in hell he was going to get in the way of her having some sort of happiness in the world after everything she’d lost. And somehow, still, he’d lost her.

He’d known the moment she knelt down next to Dog on the floor that she was going to find that note. _I belong with you. Find me._ The words were still seared in his mind. He remembered feeling as if the world had dropped out from under him the day he’d written them. Carol was settling into her life as a mom again, as a wife. He was stuck out in the woods looking for a damn ghost. So he’d gone back to Leah. He’d made his choice, but then fate seemed to make a different one. Carol was gone again. Rick wasn’t coming back. Alexandria wouldn’t be the same without either of them. Going back and watching life go on without his brother and without Carol wasn’t an option. 

And so he’d gone to Leah, and she’d gone, too. 

So the longer he and Carol stood in that cabin that day, the angrier he became with himself, the more pissed off he became that she’d disappeared into a new life with a new family while he was stuck searching for a ghost in the woods, further isolating himself and pushing every bond he’d made to the breaking point.

Yet she’d found him again, that day along the road with Henry. 

_Need a ride, stranger?_

Hearing her voice and seeing her face again had lit something inside of him, had reminded him of why he was still alive, why he fought so hard in this world. And she’d propositioned him with a new purpose in looking after Henry. The last thing he wanted was to take care of the kid she raised with Ezekiel, but at least it gave him a reason to come home, to be close to her again. And all of the loneliness he’d felt the last few years had slowly begun to fade into a distant memory. Until Alpha came. Until pain brought Carol to the breaking point. Until Carol left in the night on a fishing boat for months. And even when she came back, it wasn’t like having her back. The pain she felt from losing Henry had catapulted her down a vengeful road, and she’d become so hellbent on taking down Alpha she’d become nearly suicidal. Either way, it always felt like he was ten seconds from losing her all over again, and the sinking, hollow feeling in his gut told him that for Carol, death was an escape, and he didn’t want that for her. He didn’t want that for himself. But the more he reached out to her, the further away she became. Pain. It was a staple in their lives these days, no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. They were living in a world that was supposed to be dead. Nothing could stay good for too long.

Dog stopped in his tracks, and Daryl stopped. The dog looked up at him, and Daryl bent down to scratch behind his ears again. But Dog went still, focusing on the trees to the right. A low growl escaped him, and Daryl straightened and pulled his crossbow over his shoulder and into his hands.

“Stay back, boy,” Daryl urged, taking a step toward the side of the road. Dried leaves on a nearby bush rustled, and the raspy snarls of the dead began to choke out of the woods, giving Daryl fair warning. As the first walker came stumbling into view, Daryl sent a bolt flying right through its eye, grounding it immediately. Moments later, Daryl sent another bolt flying as a shape stumbled out of the bushes, and thankfully his aim was just off, because he quickly realized that this wasn’t a walker but a person. 

All he could see was someone covered in a cloak collapsing to their knees, panting and moaning as another walker came out right on their heels. Daryl put that walker down, too, followed by two more that came staggering out, and Dog quickly moved over to the hunched over shape, sniffing and tucking his tail between his legs before relaxing a little and looking to Daryl.

“Hey, you ok?” Daryl came walking over, and he heard a little sob escape. A pale hand slipped up to Dog’s neck and gave him a little scratch under his chin. 

“You’re looking old, boy,” the voice whispered. She straightened then, pulling back the hood of her cloak, and Daryl took one step back, steadying himself as he looked into Leah’s tearful eyes. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“What’re you doing here?” he asked, stepping closer and reaching out to help her to her feet. He felt the bandage of her arm under her cloak, and he noticed the bruising on her face. She’d been in a scuffle, that was for sure. 

She flinched and grimaced.

“I was trying to get back to the cabin,” she choked out. “Trying to get back to my boy. These assholes in camo grabbed me just outside of D.C.”

“Camo?” Daryl asked, remembering the lone man that had blown himself up right in front of him and Maggie. “You been with ‘em this whole time?” Leah shook her head.

“No. No, just a few days. I think. They knocked me out, tied me up. They look like they raided an armory or something. Military grade weapons. Pretty sure one of them had a tank. Anyway, I got out. I had to get someplace safe. I had to…” She winced and motioned for Daryl to help her with her cloak. She lifted her injured arm, and Daryl helped her slip the garment over her head. Clutched to her chest was a sleeping child. Daryl’s eyes fixated on the dark mop of hair on the little one’s head and the fact that the kid looked barely big enough to walk. Leah looked down at the little one, smoothing the child’s hair back and pressing a kiss to the top of the head. “Poor thing. She’s used to running. She can sleep through anything.”

“She…” The word caught in Daryl’s throat, and Dog began to growl and sniff the air. Moments later, more walkers began to stagger out from the trees, and Leah gasped softly, clutching the sleeping child to her chest. “C’mon. My people ain’t far.” Leah nodded and began to follow, limping with each step. Daryl reached out then. “Here, let me take the baby. You hold onto me. Alright?” Leah nodded then, passing the baby off to him, blinking back tears. She grabbed the back of his vest, and he threw one arm around her middle, holding her up as they hurried off toward the gates of Alexandria.

*~*~*~*~*

“Who’s Leah?” Maggie asked, sitting back in a pew as Daryl sat on the long table at the front of the meeting hall. Daryl swallowed hard, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“She’s a friend,” he explained. His gaze darted to Carol who sat two spots down from Maggie. Carol looked up at him, and for a moment, he couldn’t read her. When he caught her gaze, she offered a little sad, half-smile and looked away. “She used to stay at a cabin not far from here. She left a long time ago. She got captured coming back, and from the sound of it, it’s the same group that was after your people.” Maggie sat up straight in her seat. 

“Reapers? You’re sure?”

“No. I ain’t. But the way she talks, seems like the same kinda folks.” Maggie looked to Aaron and then to Gabriel before turning her attention back to Daryl.

“So they captured her, and she, what, just got away?”

“Yeah,” Daryl said quietly, glancing back to Carol who would no longer meet his gaze. 

“And you trust her? You say she’s a friend. How well do you know this woman?” Daryl tensed then, and he rubbed his palms on the sides of his pants. 

“Look, she was out there alone with a kid. She’s beat up. She needed help. Christ, ain’t that the kinda shit we used to do around here, anyway? Help people?”

“Daryl, Maggie’s just being careful,” Carol offered quietly. Daryl paused then, turning his attention back to Carol, and he felt a lump in the back of his throat. But before he could stop himself, the words flew out of his mouth.

“Careful like you were with Negan?” Carol flinched then, and Daryl felt that flinch like a slap across the face. Carol took a deep breath, and she stood, walking out of the meeting hall while Daryl’s shoulders slumped with regret.

“Daryl,” Maggie warned. “It’s been a while since you’ve seen her. You said it yourself. And she has a baby. She clearly met other people. I know I’m not in charge anymore, but I know the hell you’ve all gone through here. Remember when you brought Morgan back? He was Rick’s friend, and Rick still locked him up for the night. We _have_ to be careful.” 

“So, what? You’re gonna lock up a woman and a baby? That it?” Daryl asked. “She’s a friend. She don’t mean any harm.”

“If she’s a friend of yours, I trust your judgment,” Maggie pointed out. “But I don’t know her, and apparently nobody else does here, either. I have a son. There are other children here. I need to be sure. I know the rest of the council will agree.” Daryl chewed his lower lip for a moment and let out a little scoff. “I don’t know what your connection is to this woman, but clearly you trust her. If you’re willing to vouch for her, she’s free to move around the place. But if anything goes sideways, Daryl, she’s out.” She looked to Aaron and Gabriel.

“I’m sorry, Daryl. I have to agree with Maggie,” Aaron offered.

“She’s your responsibility,” Gabriel agreed. “I hope you’re right about her.” Daryl pushed off from the table and walked briskly down the aisle and toward the door. He walked through a cloud of smoke, turning to see Carol leaning against the porch railing, a cigarette between her lips. Their eyes met again, and Carol took a deep breath, pulling the cigarette back and flicking away the ash.

“What I said…Carol, I…” 

“I get it,” Carol said quietly. “I let Negan out. It was reckless.” She swallowed hard. “I have a lot of regrets, but _that_? I won’t ever regret that, because he did what needed to be done. And somehow, we’re still here.” She took another puff on her cigarette before putting it out on the porch post and tossing it in a bin. She nodded toward the infirmary and wrapped her arms around herself with a shiver as a cool breeze blew in. “You should check on her. Looks like you two have a lot of catching up to do.” She turned then, and Daryl swore he saw the tears in her eyes before she walked off toward the house, leaving him alone with his thoughts and about a hundred new questions that had never crossed his mind until today.

He watched her disappear around the corner and started to walk after her. This had been the first conversation they’d had in so long, and he desperately wanted to continue it. Only, Carol was right. He had a lot of questions for Leah, and he wasn’t sure exactly how to ask them or if he really wanted to know the answers. All he knew was that following Carol wasn’t going to get him anywhere. She was still hurt, and rightfully so, and he still wasn’t sure how to start a conversation with her without his own issues spilling out. For now, he decided, he had to go to Leah.


End file.
